Innocent
The county magistrate’s men soon brought in all the physical and witness evidence. However, because each piece of evidence had to be verified individually, the restaurant remained sealed for three days.
Jiang Wan and Sheng Zixu also spent three days in the cell. Apart from the terrible food, the dark and damp surroundings, and the rats that occasionally scurried past—rats that frightened Sheng Zixu and which Jiang Wan calmly chased away—they had little else to endure.
“Seriously, why are there so many rats in this damn place? Do they even want people to live?” Sheng Zixu complained as he kicked at the rats.
“It’s cold and damp, too.”
Jiang Wan watched him frantically chase them away. “It’s a prison. How good did you expect it to be?”
She also chased away the rats scurrying around her feet after being startled. Gray shadows darted back and forth throughout the cell. There weren’t that many of them, but there were enough to constantly wear a person down.
“So we’re just going to stay like this? Shouldn’t you grease some palms? When is this going to end?” Sheng Zixu suggested.
“We’ll get out eventually. It’s only a matter of time. And even if we wanted to grease some palms, someone would have to come here first.” Jiang Wan replied calmly.
When the two of them had first entered the cell, there hadn’t been so many rats. But after she returned from the courtroom, they seemed to have multiplied.
The sound of the cell door’s lock being opened pulled her back to reality. The wooden door in front of Sheng Zixu was opened by a yamen officer.
He frowned at the officer. “What are you doing?”
The officer couldn’t be bothered to waste words with him. He shouted sharply and grabbed Sheng Zixu, pulling him outside.
“The magistrate wants to see you. Hurry up and come with me!”
“Otherwise, if you’re late and the magistrate gets angry, the consequences won’t be something a lowly commoner like you can bear!” the officer said arrogantly, pointing a finger at him.
Suppressing the urge to strike him, Sheng Zixu spoke through his anger. “I can walk by myself. Let go!”
The officer instinctively released his grip on Sheng Zixu’s clothes. He forced himself to remain calm, but when he spoke, his voice had already begun to stammer, with a hint of trembling.
“Stop dawdling. Hurry up!”
The officer walked ahead while Sheng Zixu followed behind, and the two of them soon disappeared from view.
Jiang Wan wasn’t worried that he had been taken away to be tortured. She simply watched silently until they disappeared from sight.
Sheng Zixu was brought into a simple interrogation room. The county magistrate sat in the middle, while the magistrate’s aide and clerk sat on one side.
He gave them a perfunctory bow. “Greetings, Your Honors.”
The county magistrate paid little attention to his manner and went straight to the point.
“The wine cellar and fish pond are located close to each other. Did you see anyone suspicious?”
Without hesitation, Sheng Zixu answered, “Not long after we opened, we caught someone causing trouble.”
The magistrate’s aide and clerk recorded his answer. They then asked him several more questions before sending someone to escort him back.
When he returned to the cell, there were almost no rats to be seen.
“Did you grease some palms?” Sheng Zixu asked Jiang Wan awkwardly.
Jiang Wan gave a slight nod. “Mm. No need to thank me.”
He curled his lips. “Who said I wanted to thank you? Don’t flatter yourself.”
Jiang Wan sat on the clean bedding that had been prepared beneath her. She merely responded with a faint “Mm,” then closed her eyes and pretended to rest.
Sheng Zixu naturally noticed the clean bedding laid out on the ground. He secretly glanced at Jiang Wan, who was pretending to sleep, as though confirming something. Then he, too, leaned against the wall and rested.
When that group of people had questioned him, all he had felt was that they were annoyingly talkative. They asked so many questions and kept pressing him for answers, wasting a great deal of his breath.
He secretly raised his eyes again and looked at Jiang Wan.
She still had her eyes closed, and the cell was now completely silent.
Jiang Wan could feel an indistinct gaze directed at her. She knew there was no one else who could be looking at her besides him.
A sentence from the courtroom flashed through her mind:
“You bribed someone at the fish market to drug the fish and shrimp being delivered to Cangman Restaurant. But then, in an attempt to reconcile with you, they somehow ended up back in your hands, resulting in this tragedy.”
So the problem now was how to prove that she hadn’t bribed anyone at the fish market.
The poison involved was strictly controlled, so it should be easy to trace who had obtained it.
She had indeed gone to the fish market that day. But if the people there had been bribed and insisted that she was responsible, her situation would become extremely difficult.
She needed to think of another way to resolve this matter.
The county magistrate’s surname was Chen, and he was the magistrate of the entire Yunzhi County. He was known for being upright, incorruptible, and frugal, personally taking care of matters that benefited the local people. As a result, he had an excellent reputation.
At that moment, he was examining Fuxin Restaurant’s account book and comparing it with the testimonies.
The figures clearly did not match.
[Day 29, Fifth Month, First Year of Dayong — Revenue: 400 taels]
[Day 30, Fifth Month, First Year of Dayong — Revenue: 480 taels]
[…]
Magistrate Chen quickly located the expenses corresponding to the testimonies.
There was no record of any payment to bribe the fish market, purchase fish and shrimp, or arrange for the poison to be administered.
Such a large expense could not possibly have been omitted from the accounts.
A sudden thought struck him.
“Someone, go and summon the proprietor of Fengji Fish Market.”
The guards outside immediately followed the order and went to bring the man over.
Two incense sticks’ worth of time later, three knocks sounded at Magistrate Chen’s door.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
“County Magistrate.”
“Come in.”
Manager Zhang of Fengji Fish Market entered with a smile plastered across his face.
“I wonder why Your Honor summoned this commoner? I am law-abiding and haven’t done anything wrong.”
Magistrate Chen stopped writing and reassured him.
“I know. I summoned you here simply to ask you a few questions.”
“Do you know the proprietor of Fuxin Restaurant, Jiang Wan? The fish and shrimp she uses come from your fish market, and that batch of fish and shrimp contained nux vomica, which is highly poisonous.”
Manager Zhang’s legs immediately went weak, and he hurriedly cried out in protest.
“Your Honor, I’m innocent! Our fish market has always conducted its business diligently and cautiously. How could we possibly put such a deadly poison into the fish and shrimp we delivered? Besides, Fuxin Restaurant is one of our biggest customers. We always send them the best and freshest fish and shrimp.”
“Someone must be framing us, Your Honor! Please, Your Honor, you must clear our name!”
Magistrate Chen instructed Magistrate’s Aide Bai to help Manager Zhang to his feet.
Aide Bai comforted him, “Manager, don’t worry. His Honor will never wrong an innocent person, nor will he let a guilty person escape. He will certainly restore your good name. Just put your mind at ease.”
Manager Zhang hurriedly nodded.
“This commoner will cooperate fully.”
Seeing that the time was right, Magistrate Chen asked him, “Then, on the tenth day of the sixth month, did you receive any payment from Fuxin Restaurant?”
Manager Zhang lowered his head and thought carefully.
“Your Honor, we didn’t receive any payment from Fuxin Restaurant on the tenth day of the sixth month. But Cangman Restaurant did place an order with us that day.”
Magistrate Chen immediately narrowed his eyes.
“Oh? Tell me about it in detail.”
Manager Zhang described everything that had happened that day in meticulous detail.
“They ordered enough that day to last several days longer than what they normally used. And they didn’t want our fish market to deliver it. They sent their own people to haul it away…”
“That’s pretty much everything, Your Honor.” Manager Zhang swallowed, his mouth dry from talking so much.
Magistrate Chen continued questioning him. “Did they place any more orders afterward?”
“No. That was the only time.” Manager Zhang answered firmly.
“I’ll have someone return with you shortly to retrieve the account books and ask about a few more things,” Magistrate Chen instructed.
Everyone replied, “Yes, Your Honor.”
Aide Bai went with them, bringing four or five guards along as well.
They hadn’t been gone long when another subordinate came to report.
“Your Honor, we investigated every pharmacy and medicine hall in the county that carries nux vomica and corydalis.”
“One of the medicine halls sold approximately one tael of corydalis on the tenth day of the sixth month.”
“Then, on the fifteenth day of the sixth month, they also sold nux vomica. The quantity purchased was small as well, approximately one tael.”
Magistrate Chen nodded slightly. “Do you know who bought them?”
The subordinate immediately replied, “Yes, Your Honor. It was a seventy-year-old man named Wang Lei.”
“There must be something suspicious about this. Find him and get to the bottom of it.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
Once the room fell silent again, Magistrate Chen became increasingly certain that Cangman Restaurant had played a part in this. He only needed that piece of evidence to confirm it.
Meanwhile, after returning to Fengji Fish Market with Manager Zhang, Aide Bai obtained the account books. However, he decided that they should question the people at the fish market as well.
Aide Bai and the guards questioned the fish market’s workers one by one. Some of their answers differed from Manager Zhang’s.
The person in charge of arranging deliveries to the various restaurants, estates, and establishments said, “Fuxin Restaurant told us to put something in the fish and shrimp being delivered to Cangman Restaurant. They said it wouldn’t have any effect, only that it would make them live longer.”
Aide Bai recorded all of these statements and had each person affix their fingerprint as a seal of testimony.
On the way back, he took the opportunity to ask the various delivery workers about it. They all said that no one from Fuxin Restaurant had come by that day. Cangman Restaurant, however, had purchased a great deal of merchandise.
Aide Bai also recorded this information in the records. “How do you know and confirm that no one from their restaurant came by?”
The shopkeepers all gave the same answer. The people specifically responsible for purchasing supplies for Fuxin Restaurant wore distinctive clothing. Anyone who saw them would immediately know which restaurant they belonged to. They wore green garments embroidered with patterns that many people had never seen before. Even without looking at their clothes, they could identify the restaurant’s employees just by those distinctive patterns.
Aide Bai nodded as he recorded these characteristics. Once he had gathered enough information, he led the others back to report.
He handed his records to Magistrate Chen. Chen carefully read every sentence written in them, and his conviction that Cangman Restaurant was the mastermind behind everything grew stronger.
There was only one final piece of evidence missing.
When Li Deru, the second manager of Cangman Restaurant, learned that the authorities had already tracked down the seventy-year-old man, he immediately reported it to the head manager. After receiving his orders, he quickly brought two attendants to the government office to request an audience with Magistrate Chen.
Li Deru brought two young attendants with him and bowed to Magistrate Chen.
“This commoner pays his respects to Your Honor. I hope Your Honor is well.”
Magistrate Chen raised a hand, signaling for them to rise.
“Get to the point.”
Li Deru humbly stepped forward.
“Your Honor, please show us some mercy.”
He then raised a hand, signaling the two attendants to open the things they were carrying.
Inside one chest was a dazzling assortment of gold, silver, and other treasures. The other contained rare and precious valuables.
Magistrate Chen hadn’t understood what Li Deru meant by his request at first, but after seeing these things, how could he not understand?
They were trying to bribe him.
He immediately slammed his hand heavily onto the desk.
“How dare you! You actually have the audacity to bribe an official! Guards, take them to the prison and await further punishment!”
Li Deru’s face instantly went pale, while the two attendants began trembling as well.
“Your Honor, please, hear me out! The matter…”
The guards quickly dragged them away before he could finish.
Magistrate Chen ordered his men to return the two chests to Cangman Restaurant.
When the head manager of Cangman Restaurant saw the treasures being returned, his heart sank.
It’s over. Everything is over.
The seventy-year-old man was brought before Magistrate Chen. His legs went weak, and he immediately fell to his knees, confessing everything.
Magistrate Chen ordered his men to treat the old man well and have him testify in court the following day. He then sent his aide to the prison to inform Jiang Wan and Sheng Zixu.
“Manager Jiang, you two will be completely free to leave tomorrow. The evildoers will also be punished.”
Jiang Wan cupped her fists and thanked him. “Thank you.”
Aide Bai nodded. “Make your preparations for tomorrow.”
After saying this, he left.
Sheng Zixu couldn’t hide his happiness. But when Jiang Wan looked at him, he immediately put on a stern expression, pretending that he didn’t care at all.
Seeing him desperately trying to maintain his aloof demeanor, Jiang Wan did her best not to expose him.
“It’s getting late. Go to sleep.”
At dawn, the area outside the courtroom was packed with people.
The head manager of Cangman Restaurant had also arrived, with the second manager, Li Deru, standing beside him.
After Magistrate Chen took his seat, he began listing all of their crimes, one by one. Each charge was backed by strong evidence and witness testimony.
Jiang Wan silently complained to herself, They thought they were so clever, but in the end, their entire scheme was full of holes.
Li Deru refused to sit back and wait for his fate. However, every attempt he made to refute the accusations ended in failure.
In the end, with no way to deny the charges, Li Deru voluntarily stepped forward and took responsibility for all the crimes in order to protect Cangman Restaurant.
Cangman Restaurant was saved, but its reputation was ruined, and the number of customers dropped considerably.
The head manager still had some conscience. After pulling some strings, he managed to reduce Li Deru’s prison sentence and made arrangements for him while he was incarcerated.
On the day Jiang Wan and Sheng Zixu were released, they first removed the official seal from the restaurant. Then, they gathered everyone together to investigate the traitor.
One person was missing—Ma Lai, the man specifically responsible for putting up the shed over the fish pond.
Jiang Wan more or less guessed what had happened. In front of everyone, she announced that Ma Lai was fired.
At the same time, she received letters from the people stationed undercover and from the docks, expressing their concern. They also said they would send some things over.
The letter from the undercover contact also mentioned that Butcher Li’s newly married wife had died again, this time from drowning. It also contained information about the incident from before, when those children had kidnapped other children.
After Sheng Zixu returned, he began making up for all the suffering he’d endured in prison, indulging himself to compensate for what he had gone through.